In view of the sensitivity associated with the verdict in a case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, all schools in Panchkula will remain closed on August 24 and 25.

In view of the sensitivity associated with the verdict in a case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan, all schools in Panchkula will remain closed on August 24 and 25. This order is applicable to all private and public schools falling in the region, as per news agency ANI. The Panchkula court is likely to pronounce its verdict on spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Singh in connection with the sadhvi sexual abuse case.

A case was registered against Dera chief Singh in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about alleged sexual exploitation of female followers, as per a PTI report. Singh was accused of raping them inside the Dera campus on the outskirts of Sirsa town in Haryana. A charge sheet in the case was filed by the CBI in 2007. However, the Dera chief has denied these charges.

Earlier, the verdict was expected to come last week. For which, a high alert had been sounded in Punjab in the wake of the possibility of violence by supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Thousands of security personnel had been reportedly deployed in Punjab to counter any untoward incident at that time. As the verdict is now likely to be pronounced on August 25 by a special CBI court in Panchkula, Punjab and Haryana are once again on high alert, said media reports.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief has a massive following, especially in Punjab and Haryana. Not only in India but reportedly Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh enjoys a big following in other countries as well. Millions of followers are connected with Dera and according to an estimate, the sect’s property is worth over billions of rupees.